Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26708518›Full record

ArticleExperimental brain research2016

Corticomotor control of lumbar multifidus muscles is impaired in chronic low back pain: concurrent evidence from ultrasound imaging and double-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Hugo Massé-Alarie, Louis-David Beaulieu, Richard Preuss, Cyril Schneider

3 registry-linked trialsAbstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Experimental brain research, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 42 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
42citing papers in PubMed
5.6field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT05111691 naunknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2022, after this paper: background citation

Does Dry Needling Mediate Cortical Excitability in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain?

TypeinterventionalSponsorTexas Woman's UniversityRan2022 to 2023Enrolled50ConditionsLow Back PainArmsDry needling
NCT05156242 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2021, after this paper: background citation

Corticospinal and Motor Behavior Responses After 6-week Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Combined With Motor Control Exercises in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain

TypeinterventionalSponsorMahidol UniversityRan2021 to 2024Enrolled96ConditionsLow Back PainArmsActive-tDCS priming MCE, Sham-tDCS priming MCE, NMES priming MCE, Conventional physical therapy
NCT05961774 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2023, after this paper: background citation

The Investigation of Underlying Mechanism of Lumbar Multifidus Muscle Activation Deficits in Adults With Chronic Low Back Pain

TypeinterventionalSponsorMahidol UniversityRan2023 to 2024Enrolled30ConditionsLow Back PainArmsTranscranial magnetic stimulation, Neuromuscular electrical stimulation
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

42 citing papers in PubMed, 76 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Impact of Intramuscular Electrical Stimulation on Multifidus Muscle Function in Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2025
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  19. Motor cortex excitability in chronic low back pain.Experimental brain research · 2022
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Hugo Massé-AlarieLaboratory of Clinical Neuroscience and Neurostimulation, Neuroscience Division of the Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, RC-9800, 2705 Blvd. Laurier, Quebec City, QC, G1V 4G2, Canada.
Louis-David BeaulieuLaboratory of Clinical Neuroscience and Neurostimulation, Neuroscience Division of the Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, RC-9800, 2705 Blvd. Laurier, Quebec City, QC, G1V 4G2, Canada.
Richard PreussConstance Lethbridge Rehabilitation Center Research Site of the CRIR, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Cyril SchneiderLaboratory of Clinical Neuroscience and Neurostimulation, Neuroscience Division of the Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, RC-9800, 2705 Blvd. Laurier, Quebec City, QC, G1V 4G2, Canada. cyril.schneider@rea.ulaval.ca.
Centre de réadaptation Lethbridge-Layton-Mackay · CAMcGill University · CA

Funding

Canadian Institutes of Health Research
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is often associated with impaired control of deep trunk muscles and reorganization of the primary motor areas (M1). Precisely, functional changes of the lumbar multifidus muscles (MF) involved in spine stability may be of special interest in rehabilitation. Therefore, we tested MF corticomotor control using double transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) paradigms for the first time in this muscle and examined its link with MF volitional activation. Eleven individuals with lateralized CLBP and 13 pain-free participants were recruited. Ultrasound imaging enabled measurement of MF volitional isometric contraction in prone lying. TMS of MF M1 area was used to test hemispheric excitability and mechanisms in relation to motor programming, i.e., active motor threshold (AMT), amplitude of motor-evoked potentials and short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) and facilitation (SICF). In CLBP, SICI level was lower in the left hemisphere and MF volitional contraction was not related to AMT (M1 excitability), conversely to what was observed in the pain-free group. No other between-group difference was detected. These original findings support a plasticity of cortical maps controlling paravertebral muscles and likely including a different motor strategy for the control of MF. Changes of M1 function may thus underlie impaired motor control of lumbopelvic spine and pain persistence in CLBP.

Indexed as

AdultChronic PainElectromyographyFemaleHumansLow Back PainLumbar VertebraeMaleMiddle AgedMotor CortexPain MeasurementParaspinal MusclesTranscranial Magnetic StimulationUltrasonographyYoung AdultChronic low back painIntracortical inhibition and facilitationMultifidus motor controlPrimary motor cortexTranscranial magnetic stimulationUltrasound imaging

Identifiers

PMID26708518
OpenAlexW2233026429

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.